Uniform resource locators (URLs) are a standard way of specifying how to access a resource, such as a document or web page, on a particular server. A URL typically specifies the protocol type (such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol, HTTP) and the server name (which may be translated into an IP address using the Domain Name Server, DNS). A URL may also specify a port number and path and parameters for the resource under that server.
The embodiments described below are not limited to implementations which solve any or all of the disadvantages of known URLs.